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The Peekskill Common Council will vote on a residency requirement for the chief of police at its Dec. 10 meeting after discussing the issue at Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting.
A residency rule had previously been included in the city charter, but it had been removed, acting city manager Brian Havranek said.
"It was removed and that actually paved the way for Chief (Eugene) Tumolo, our current chief," Havranek said.
The resolution would amend the city charter. Under the proposed new rule, a new chief would have six months from the date he is appointed to become a resident of Peekskill. But the rule could be waived by a supermajority vote.
The previous version of the rule did not include a waiver clause, but the city's corporation counsel recommended such a measure be included this time, Havranek added.
When asked at last Monday's budget hearing what prompted the change, members said it was a good time to revisit the issue.
"This is the year that the current chief of police is retiring so it came up as to whether we wanted to have them as a resident as well," Councilwoman Marybeth McGowan said.
Residency is required for several other city positions, including the city manager and the city clerk. A number of residents had said they would prefer that the police chief also live in the city, Deputy Mayor Drew Claxton said.
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